Three Albums
In a rare (these days) splurge, I recently purchased three CD's. Since I hardly ever talk about music on here, I thought I'd give each a mention.This is the best trifecta to come in for me in a long, long time.Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow
Quiet and contemplative; a disc I look forward to hearing again and again as the snows move in. I look forward to the annual drifts that will (sigh) keep me from work and force me (shudder) to stay home with the family. Candles and the fireplace will be lit. Nachos will be served. Wine & sparkling grape juice may flow. And this disc will be playing. Beautiful, and my favorite disc from her since her 70's/80's output.Foo Fighters: Wasting Light
Said to have been recorded in Dave's garage, this disc is the freshest-sounding thing I've heard from these guys in a long time. It rocks! If radio still played music in order to find out what would hit, I can imagine several of these songs doing extremely well on the charts. Overall these tunes are driving and catchy, and I look forward to getting to know the album better over time.
Thomas Dolby: A Map of the Floating City
Perhaps the reason I don't know the above albums better yet than I do is that this one has me mesmerized. I've listened to this pretty much non-stop since I first slipped it out of the Amazon box. People expecting "She Blinded Me With Science" again were always out to be disappointed, but if you approach Dolby's songs without that expectation, the experience is a different thing altogether. I gather that this album was released slowly, as part of an interactive online game, and I have to say I have mixed feelings about missing out on that opportunity. I'd have loved to have participated in the game and heard the songs doled out to me that way, but getting the album all at once has its charms as well . . . The range of sounds and styles on this album is what attracts me the most. Of course Dolby has always been eclectic, but for me this material both pushes the envelope of eclectic and yet blends from beginning to end like none of his other albums has done before. That may be at least in part due to the sound work of Bill Bottrell, who I'm sure you'll recognize. (That's right, the same Bill Bottrell who worked with Thomas Dolby in the 80's!) :)If you go searching for songs from this latest Dolby album on YouTube, you are likely only to find "Toad Lickers," which is a shame because, while the song itself is a lot of quirky fun, (and the video features a funny puppet show--maybe not for kids) it can't really represent the album as a whole. This album simply has to be listened to from start to finish, at least several dozen times. (I'm approaching those numbers as I type.)I'd say more about the songs, but I don't want to be a spoiler, so I'll just say . . . they tell stories, and not everything that happens in those stories is nice.Herring405
H
Herring405
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In a rare (these days) splurge, I recently purchased three CD's. Since I hardly ever talk about music on here, I thought I'd give each a mention.This is the best trifecta to come in for me in a long, long time.Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow
Quiet and contemplative; a disc I look forward to hearing again and again as the snows move in. I look forward to the annual drifts that will (sigh) keep me from work and force me (shudder) to stay home with the family. Candles and the fireplace will be lit. Nachos will be served. Wine & sparkling grape juice may flow. And this disc will be playing. Beautiful, and my favorite disc from her since her 70's/80's output.Foo Fighters: Wasting Light
Said to have been recorded in Dave's garage, this disc is the freshest-sounding thing I've heard from these guys in a long time. It rocks! If radio still played music in order to find out what would hit, I can imagine several of these songs doing extremely well on the charts. Overall these tunes are driving and catchy, and I look forward to getting to know the album better over time.
Thomas Dolby: A Map of the Floating City
Perhaps the reason I don't know the above albums better yet than I do is that this one has me mesmerized. I've listened to this pretty much non-stop since I first slipped it out of the Amazon box. People expecting "She Blinded Me With Science" again were always out to be disappointed, but if you approach Dolby's songs without that expectation, the experience is a different thing altogether. I gather that this album was released slowly, as part of an interactive online game, and I have to say I have mixed feelings about missing out on that opportunity. I'd have loved to have participated in the game and heard the songs doled out to me that way, but getting the album all at once has its charms as well . . . The range of sounds and styles on this album is what attracts me the most. Of course Dolby has always been eclectic, but for me this material both pushes the envelope of eclectic and yet blends from beginning to end like none of his other albums has done before. That may be at least in part due to the sound work of Bill Bottrell, who I'm sure you'll recognize. (That's right, the same Bill Bottrell who worked with Thomas Dolby in the 80's!) :)If you go searching for songs from this latest Dolby album on YouTube, you are likely only to find "Toad Lickers," which is a shame because, while the song itself is a lot of quirky fun, (and the video features a funny puppet show--maybe not for kids) it can't really represent the album as a whole. This album simply has to be listened to from start to finish, at least several dozen times. (I'm approaching those numbers as I type.)I'd say more about the songs, but I don't want to be a spoiler, so I'll just say . . . they tell stories, and not everything that happens in those stories is nice.Herring405
